Immeasurable Time
by yukuro
Summary: Sometimes, stress is best pented out away from the go board. A rather new experience for Hikaru and Akira. [HikaruxAkira]


**Disclaimer:** I am poor. My computer eats my socks. Both not qualities of someone who would own Hikago n.n;

**Pairing:** HikaruxAkira

Immeasurable Time

by: yukuro

Time always seemed to pass so quickly when the moment was most enjoyable. Pleasure blended seconds into minutes and minutes into hours, making time seem to slip away faster than smooth sand through fingers.

Touya Akira quietly placed a white stone down onto the go-ban before sneaking his eyes up to look for a moment at the face of the person sitting across the table from him.

Shindou Hikaru was cheerfully grinning at the other boy when their eyes met. Still smiling, the green-eyed boy turned to place a black stone down before he looked up to stare back at Akira's face. "Your turn."

Slightly flustered, Akira pulled his gaze away from his rival's face to examine the board again. He knew Hikaru was still staring at him with the same smile on his face, so he avoided looking up again as much as possible. He could not seem to be rid of the tingling warmth on his cheeks however.

_Touya__ is kind of cute when he's blushing,_ Hikaru thought to himself as he placed another stone down. It may have been a bit odd for him to smile so much, but Hikaru found it inevitable. The green-eyed boy bit down on his lower lip to make it less obvious. He noticed his rival was growing embarrassed. But that only made him want to grin even more.

"It's strange today," one of the old men sitting at the table next to the two young pros muttered across the board to his opponent with his eye twitching. "Usually those two are brawling to no end. It's been unusually quiet these last few days."

"Maybe they've come to some kind of understanding," the old man's opponent replied simply. "Though I have to admit, I'm curious."

Hearing their whispering, Akira shifted slightly in his seat. The curious whispering made him slightly nervous. He silently wondered what kind of reactions he would receive if everyone knew what was going on between him and his rival.

Looking up to see Hikaru still grinning at him, even though it looked like he was trying not to, Akira felt as if the room suddenly grew warmer. Hikaru did not exactly help suppress everyone's suspicions, Akira realized with an inward sigh. Placing another stone onto the board, his thoughts began to wander back through his memories to an event that happened not too long ago.

It was a beautiful day that morning. The sun was shining, the birds were cheerfully chirping, and the sound of loud bickering could be heard from the Go salon owned by Touya Kouyo. It was an ordinary day at the Go salon. If no bickering could be heard from Hikaru and Akira, someone would most likely assume something was wrong, or one of them was not there. That day, the shouting was unusually loud.

"What kind of move was that?! If you put the stone _there_ you leave this area completely unprotected!"

"Well, if I _didn't_ put it there, this area would have been completely surrounded! You were the one who said to go for bigger areas first!"

"You _would_ have been able to do a better job if you didn't keep looking around to every other place except the go-ban!"

"I have _not_ been looking around everywhere!"

"Shindou, every time I glance up, you're staring at me!"

"Oh yeah?! Well, what does that matter?! I didn't know it was a rule not to look at your opponent's face!"

"You would play better if you kept your eyes on the game!"

"Don't you think about anything else outside of Go, Touya?!"

"That doesn't matter! It matters that we're playing a game right now!"

Ichikawa sighed when the room the bickering young pros were sitting in quickly emptied out to give them privacy. Everyone in the salon moved to the other side of the room to avoid betting involved with their brawl.

"Akira-sensei and Shindou-kun sure have been loud lately," Hirose commented to Ichikawa with a slight sigh. "It's a wonder how they finish a game everyday."

Shaking her head, Ichikawa smiled slightly. "You grow used to it, I guess. I know Akira-kun only fights with Shindou-kun all the time because he wants his rival to become strong. Akira-kun cares about Shindou-kun a lot. It's nice that they're such good rivals."

"What was with that last move there?!"

"What are you talking about?! I just took control of this area!"

"But you left this area uncovered! If I just go here, I can control this part!"

Exchanging twitching smiles with Hirose, Ichikawa went on, "Well, it is nice that they're good rivals. Even if they are a…a bit loud at times…"

"Shindou! Pay attention!"

"I _am_!"

Frowning at the go-ban, Hikaru slumped down into his seat. He knew summer was almost over and there would be less time to meet Akira around school, but it was impossible to do anything today. They both were irritated about one thing or another. Maybe it was a bad day today. Even so, neither one wanted to leave.

They played over and over again until the salon emptied out. It was late and even Ichikawa left for home. Both pros stared intently at the go-ban. They were both improving. Not only in Go, but with their tempers and tolerance for each other. Hikaru stormed out of the salon less and they were able to play more games each day. Inside, they were both happy despite the constant fighting.

"You have to be careful with this area," Akira was saying as he pointed to an area on the board. "This could be a vital piece of territory."

Hikaru nodded as he examined the board, taking in what his rival had to teach him. After a few moments, he found himself staring at the other boy's face again. For some reason, Hikaru found the other boy more and more distracting as the days went by. He began to notice things, like how Akira always blushed and shyly pushed his hair behind his ear when he was complimented or how serious he looked during a game.

"…are you even listening to me, Shindou?" Akira looked up with a frown when he felt green eyes rested on his face again. "If you're going to be distracted we may as well not play at all."

"I'm not distracted," Hikaru said stubbornly, tearing his eyes away from the other boy's frowning lips that looked so tempting for some reason. "I'm just…"

"Distracted?" Akira asked with sigh as he pushed the stones to the center of the board to clean them up. "Really, Shindou. We meet all the time so we can learn from each other! I don't see the point of even trying if you keep looking around and don't concentrate! Why are you always looking at me anyway?!"

"It's obviously because I like you! But I guess you're too busy with Go to notice!" Hikaru shouted back in irritation, annoyed at the lecture his rival was giving him. The moment the words left his mouth, his green eyes widened while Akira's blinked several times. Slapping his hands over his mouth and flushing, Hikaru reached for his bag and belongings in attempt to run away. "I…I have to go now."

Akira sat in silence for the moments Hikaru spent fumbling with his bag as quickly as possible. His cheeks grew warm in realization and before he fully understood, his arm reached out and held onto the back of Hikaru's jacket just as he turned to run. Bangs covering his eyes, he called out quietly, "Wait…"

The green-eyed boy stood before his rival nervously, wondering if he was going to be hit over the head with something blunt. He watched silently as Akira moved his shaking hand to pick up a few stones to put back into the go-ke. His hand was shaking hard enough for the handful of stones to spill onto the ground. Flushing, Akira crawled down onto the ground to pick them up embarrassedly.

Eyebrows knitting together, Hikaru got down on his knees to help pick up the stones in the darkness under the table. A tense silence hung between them. Groping the ground for any unseen stones, Hikaru felt his hand fall on top of Akira's. They both froze at once, looking at each other nervously with blush stains across their faces.

"Touya," Hikaru began quietly, moving slightly closer, "I…When I said that I liked you, I was serious. Is that all right with you, Touya? Touya…?"

Slumping into the darkness, Akira could only stare into Hikaru's serious green eyes. No, he had no doubt that Hikaru was telling the truth. He was only unsure of how to react. His body felt warm, but he felt no anger or disgust at all. Foreign emotions flooded him, making his head dizzy. Eyes closing tightly, Akira grabbed the other boy's jacket sleeve. "Sh…Shindou…"

Heart nearly stopping, Hikaru crawled closer to the other boy, eyes fixed on his face. Slowly and softly, he leaned over with closed eyes to place a kiss onto his rival's lips. It was shy, sloppy, and inexperienced, but a kiss nonetheless. It was a kiss that set both their nerves on fire.

Akira pulled away for a breath of air first, his fist unable to let go of the other boy's sleeve. He gasped loudly for a moment, finally bringing his hand up to his mouth to trace his lips awkwardly. It felt a bit strange, but pleasant at the same time. Before he knew what was happening, Akira closed his eyes and leaned forward to meet his rival's lips again.

"Does this mean you aren't going to beat me over the head with something?" Hikaru murmured with a grin as he closed his eyes for the kiss. Tracing over his rival's lips with his own, Hikaru muttered again, "Actually, don't answer that. I'll keep your lips busy."

Their second kiss lasted only a few moments before footsteps were heard, and a voice called out, "Akira-kun?"

Instantly, both boys jumped from under the table and put some space between them. Hikaru opened his fist and pointed at the three stones he had picked up as if he were counting them while Akira straightened out his clothes. Both were awkwardly blushing when Ichikawa came into the room.

"Akira-kun? Shindou-kun? You're both still here?" Ichikawa asked in surprise, blinking at the boys.

"Oh, we were just about to leave, Ichikawa-san," Akira said, staring down at his feet to hide his red face. "Did you forget something?"

"Hirose-san left his coat here so I came to get it," Ichikawa replied, picking up a jacket hanging over a nearby chair. She glanced between the two boys a few times before shrugging and turning around. "Well, don't stay too late and don't forget to lock up for me. Good night."

"Good night," Hikaru and Akira echoed as Ichikawa left the salon. Once she was gone, both boys breathed a sigh of relief.

Dumping the stones into the go-ke, Hikaru slumped down into his chair to clean up the board. "Ah, so then, Touya… What…do you think?"

Akira appeared thoughtful for a moment, sitting down in his chair across from Hikaru. Closing his eyes, he said with a slight shrug, "Your lips are very dry."

"What?!" Hikaru demanded, instantly licking his lips. Jumping up, he pulled his rival across the table with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I call for a rematch then!"

"Shindou, you always lose," Akira replied, holding his twitching lips down.

"Not when it comes to kissing!" Hikaru declared, pulling the other boy closer. "This time, you lose to me."

It was an awkward memory, Akira thought to himself as he observed his rival's now thoughtful face across the table. After it happened, Akira thought about it often, wondering why he acted so spontaneously. But then…

Closing his eyes with a brief smile, Akira reached for another one of his stones. It wasn't a bad thing, really. It may be a bit strange, but it seemed to be inevitable.

"I'm hungry," Hikaru suddenly declared, standing up and putting his jacket on.

Akira blinked rapidly at him from across the table as the old men beside them turned to stare as well. Hikaru _did_ just lose again, but his sudden outburst was still rather…random.

"Come on, Touya. Let's go eat together," Hikaru stated, walking around the table. It seemed more like a demand than an invitation.

Still confused, Akira looked at his rival with a questioning look. "I…"

"Hold it right there, kid," the old man at the table beside them began, standing up. "So you're hungry. Why does Akira-sensei need to go with you?"

"If I leave Touya alone here, some perverted jii-san might take advantage of him," Hikaru stated bluntly without a drop of humor in his voice. "Too many old stalkers is kind of weird for a teenager."

"Why you—!"

People sitting at the tables around them leaped up to restrain the old man from attacking the young pro. Grinning, Hikaru extended his hand to the red-faced Akira. "Come on, Touya. Let's go."

"Akira-sensei! This brat has no manners!" the old man exclaimed, a vein on his forehead popping.

Smiling apologetically, Akira bowed to the old man quietly before Hikaru dragged him off. Just as he was being dragged out the door, Akira called back, "Please don't say such things about Shindou! He was only joking!"

"That Shindou is a bad influence on Akira-sensei," the old man said spitefully, sinking back into his seat.

"But Akira-sensei looked rather happy, didn't he?" another commented quietly, leaving the room in silence.

Instantly, the entire room burst out in laughter. "No way!"

---

Akira blinked once at the food laid out before him. He cocked his head to one side then blinked a few more times again. Slowly, he looked across the table at Hikaru, who was staring back at him while eating the last of his hamburger.

Swallowing, Hikaru pointed at the other boy's fast food with a fry. "You've been sitting like that for the last ten minutes. Are you going to eat or what? I paid for it so it's not like you have to worry about money or anything like that."

"Oh, um, I just…" Akira tried to explain, while he tucked his hair behind his ear with one hand and poking the hamburger in its wrapper with the other. "Um… I don't usually eat very much…"

"I thought so!" Hikaru exclaimed, finishing his burger and crumpling the paper up. "You're really thin. Anyway, that's not a good excuse, Touya! Eat, eat!"

Frowning slightly, Akira picked up a single fry with two fingers and examined it before he took a bite of half of it. A strange look crossed his face as he chewed and swallowed. "Is it supposed to be so salty?"

"Well, Americans are weird," Hikaru said with a shrug, eating a few more of his fries.

"Are there…chopsticks here?" Akira asked, slightly embarrassed.

Hikaru stared at him for a moment before bursting out laughing. Akira was slightly insulted, but Hikaru found it too adorable. Abandoning his side of the table, Hikaru went around and slid into the booth next to his rival with a grin. "You don't eat fast food with chopsticks! You eat with your hands. Haha, Touya, don't tell me you've never eaten fast food before."

Akira opened his mouth before closing it again. He was going to tell Hikaru off, but he thought it was a better idea to keep his mouth shut.

Smiling kindly, Hikaru unwrapped the other boy's hamburger halfway and held it up to his lips. "Here you go. Try some."

Feeling awkward, Akira muttered, "I…I can eat by myself."

"I know, but it's more fun this way," Hikaru said cheerfully. "Besides, this is our first time doing something outside of playing go. Or do you want to leave already?"

"No!" Akira blurted out before he could stop himself. Turning slightly red, he took a tiny bite of the food Hikaru head out before him. He ate a little less the half of the hamburger before he politely pulled away, saying he was completely full.

"You know, Touya," Hikaru said with a smile as they left the fast food restaurant. "This kind of feels like a date. Heh, I bet Akari would be jealous. Ah, but I can tell you don't like fast food very much. How about ramen next time?"

"Next time…?" Akira asked, blinking.

"Unless you don't want to," Hikaru said quickly, examining his rival's face. He felt rather embarrassed himself. He didn't mean to blurt out so much.

"No…it's fine," the longhaired boy replied quietly, looking down at the ground. "I just…haven't really spent time like this with anyone before."

"Really?" Hikaru asked, rubbing the back of his head. Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Akira's hand. "If you're not busy right now, why don't you come to my house? It's not too far and well…we can be together for a little while longer."

Looking up, Akira realized he wasn't the only one who was embarrassed. Hikaru's hand felt warm and seemed to be nervously trembling slightly. Even his cheeks were slightly red. "I…would like to go…"

Beaming with happiness, Hikaru pulled the surprised Akira along down the sidewalk, running lightly. "Come on! This way, this way!"

They were only running for a few minutes and well into Hikaru's neighborhood when he noticed Akira was panting heavily behind him. Turning, the green-eyed boy examined his rival's tired face. "Touya…are you alright?"

"F-fine," the other boy said between pants. "I'm sorry, I just…I'm not used to running around so much. I never really played outside when I was younger. I just need to rest for a moment…"

Hikaru examined the other boy with guilt on his face. He knew he should not have been running so fast, especially after eating. Even if he didn't really know about Akira's low stamina.

_That's right,_ Hikaru suddenly thought to himself a bit painfully as he examined the other boy's tired face, _because while I was outside playing and running around, building up my stamina when I was young, Touya was inside practicing Go everyday…_

"Want me to carry you?" Hikaru asked, trying to be helpful. Instead he earned a bewildered expression with a raised eyebrow. "What? It's not like I can't."

"I'll be fine," Akira said, taking a deep breath and standing up straight. "It's not much further, is it?"

"No," Hikaru muttered with a tiny smile. He reached out and took hold of his rival's hand again before walking along in comfortable silence.

Their hands broke apart from the moment Hikaru's mother happened to walk outside. Both boys felt their faces heat up.

"Hikaru," the green-eyed boy's mother said in surprise and delight, "you didn't tell me you were bringing a friend over! Aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Kaa-san!" Hikaru moaned loudly, feeling his reddened face return to normal. Grabbing Akira's hand again, he dragged the boy inside. "This is Touya."

"Nice to meet you," Akira said as politely as he could while being dragged into the house. He bowed to the other boy's mother who instantly seemed to like him.

"Ah! So _you're_ Touya-kun!" Hikaru's mother exclaimed with sudden enthusiasm. "Hikaru talks about you all the time. It's nice to finally meet you. Such a polite boy… Small wonder Hikaru likes you so much."

"_Kaa__-san_!" Hikaru called again in mortification. He glanced sideways at Akira. The longhaired boy was smiling and holding back a laugh. Pulling the boy upstairs, he declared to his mother, "We're going upstairs!"

"I'll bring you some tea!" his mother yelled up the stairs.

"Don't need it!" Hikaru yelled back before shutting his door and sliding to the ground in his room with a sigh. He looked up when he heard Akira chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"Shindou, your mother is very nice," Akira said, his face slightly flushed from laughter. "Do you really talk about me so much?"

"Yes," Hikaru said seriously, making Akira's laughter disappear. Getting to his feet, he walked towards the other boy, who he had already grown taller than. He continued to walk forward until Akira backed right into his bed and fell onto it. "Is that so funny?"

"N…"

Green eyes made him speechless. Akira could say nothing when Hikaru bent over him, tracing a finger over his lips. His breath became ragged when Hikaru's green eyes closed, his lips replacing his finger.

His heart nearly stopped.

Hikaru's body felt heavy on top of his own, but Akira didn't bother to wriggle away. Their kiss was electrifying. Akira had to turn his flushed face away for a breath of air. "Sh…Shindou…!"

Hikaru didn't seem to hear him, continuing to kiss the boy's neck. Akira's arms tightening around his neck, Hikaru tightened his own arms around the slim boy's waist. "Touya… I…"

"Hikaru!"

Two pairs of eyes instantly snapped open.

"Is Touya-kun staying for dinner?"

Climbing off of the boy, Hikaru rubbed the back of his neck and opened the door before yelling down the stairs, "We already ate!"

Face still bright red, Akira sat up on the bed, his hand flying up to trace over his kiss-bruised lips. He stared at Hikaru's back as the boy rubbed the back of his neck in irritation. "Shi…"

"I'm sorry, Touya," Hikaru apologized quietly, not daring to turn around. "I… I wasn't thinking of taking advantage of you before my mother called. I just…wanted to kiss you."

"Shindou…" Akira began slowly.

"Is the fact that I like you really so shameful?" Hikaru demanded, shoulders shaking. "I can't help it."

"No, it's not your fault," Akira said quietly but awkwardly. "I'm sorry. I acted awkward… I just don't really know how to behave with these kind of feelings."

Suddenly, Hikaru laughed. Finally he turned back around to face his rival, a strange look on his face as he laughed. "I don't care about that, Touya. I was probably the one acting awkward anyway. I like you, so I just want to spend time with you."

Lowering his head slightly to cover his blush, Akira turned to stare at the wall. "The entire day," he began quietly, "is already over. I hadn't even noticed. Time really does seem to pass too quickly with you."

"Then I want to spend immeasurable time with you," Hikaru finished softly. He suddenly blinked rapidly. "I-I mean if that's ok with you!"

Akira found himself chuckling softly. "Of course it is."

Time passes the fastest when life seems the most pleasant and enjoyable. Instead of letting the minutes slip away, grasp onto the enjoyable times and make the time immeasurable.

Owari.

--- --- ---

**A/N: **::twitch:: kind of fluffy, I guess. I have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote this. ::sweatdrop::

It's pathetic what boredom while waiting for your computer to revive can do to a person. u.u; though everyone does like to point out that I wasn't working on those crack-pot Tenipuri fics. ::cough:: please excuse my writer's block-ism ::sulk::

Yes, thank you for reading!


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